Cetacea – מילון אנגלי-אנגלי
Cetacea
Cetacea , (from
Latin cetus "large sea creature" and
Greek ketos "sea-monster") are a widely
distributed and diverse
infraorder of
carnivorous, aquatic,
marine mammals. They comprise the
families Balaenidae (
right whales),
Balaenoptera (rorqual),
Eschrichtiidae (the
gray whale),
Delphinidae (oceanic dolphins),
Monodontidae (Arctic whales),
Phocoenidae (porpoises),
Physeteridae (the
sperm whale),
Kogiidae (lesser sperm whales),
Platanistidae (Old World
river dolphins),
Iniidae (New World river dolphins),
Pontoporiidae (the La plata dolphin), and
Ziphidae (beaked whales). There are currently 88 species of cetacean. While cetaceans were historically thought to have descended from
mesonychids,
molecular evidence supports them as descendants of
Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates). Cetaceans belong to the order Cetartiodactyla (derived from Cetacea and Artiodactyla) and their closest living relatives are
hippopotamuses, having diverged about 60 million years ago.
Cetacea
Noun
1. an order of Eutheria
(synonym) order Cetacea
(hypernym) animal order
(member-holonym) Eutheria, subclass Eutheria
(member-meronym) cetacean, cetacean mammal, blower
cetáceo
adj.
cetacean
Cetacea
(n. pl.)
An order of marine mammals, including the whales. Like ordinary mammals they breathe by means of lungs, and bring forth living young which they suckle for some time. The anterior limbs are changed to paddles; the tail flukes are horizontal. There are two living suborders:
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), edited by Noah Porter.
About
Cetacea
An Order of marine mammals. The suborder Odontocetti includes dolphins, killer whales and toothed whales. Many of the great whales (such as the blue whale) belong to a different suborder (baleen whales or Mysticetti).
